Blind Date
by Calliope221
Summary: After a date goes terribly wrong, Maddie becomes a witness with a price on her head. Can she survive this ordeal long enough to testify, and maybe even thank the blue eyed detective determined to protect her? Horrible summary.... T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**A story I've been playing with for a while.... Feedback is always appreciated :) Hope you enjoy!!**

The minute I walked into the diner and saw the man waving to me from the window booth, I began to wonder why I'd even agreed to go on this stupid date in the first place. Sure the guy Andrea had set me up with was attractive. Under normal circumstances, I would go so far as to call him downright sexy. He had it all: amazing hair, looked great in just about anything, a gorgeous sparkling smile, manicured hands, and deep black eyes that could drag an unsuspecting woman across a crowded room. In short, he was probably a self-centered womanizer and totally not my type.

A half an hour's conversation with Jack Palmer confirmed my suspicions. Not only was I not into his constant chatter about his job, house, car, and exotic fish collection (which came along with an invite to his place after lunch), I was kind of turned off by his obvious surprise at finding out I was his lunch date. Whatever he'd been expecting it wasn't me, but he did a nice job at hiding his initial disappointment. I wasn't exactly the right girl for a guy only interested in an expensive lifestyle and casual sex.

While Jack was dressed in what I could only guess were designer dress jeans (I knew better than to ask), a well-pressed collared shirt, a pricey looking suit jacket, and sat across from me sipping delicately at his latte-something-or-other, I'd worn my nicest pair of Target-bought jeans and my favorite hoodie. Of course I owned nicer clothes than that, but Andrea had told me I'd be meeting my mystery man at the diner down the street from our apartment, so I'd assumed the whole ordeal was a casual one. I hadn't even bothered swapping my glasses for contacts that morning.

My plan for the day was a simple one. I'd meet some nice artsy guy with scruffy hair, glasses, and a musical inclination who'd be perfectly enjoyable for our one time date. He'd ask me out again after our lunch, and I'd tell him I'd check my schedule. If I felt like it I'd find the time to do it, but otherwise it wouldn't really matter if I bothered. Of course I should have known that wasn't how Andrea did things. She was all about the extravagant.

"Your Caesar Salad, sir." The heavenly voice of our waiter cut through my thoughts just as my date had switched topics from his fish collection (thriller...) To one of his ex's that apparently still worked for him. I wasn't too sure since I'd stopped listening about ten minutes before.

"Thank you, but I'm sure I ordered this without dressing on it? I prefer spreading the love myself, if you know what I mean." This last comment was directed at me with a wink.

"Thank you very much." I said as I received my burger from the waiter. I almost laughed when he rolled his eyes at me with a nod to my "date", but I settled for a small smile instead. I wasn't one to laugh at people no matter how much they asked for it.

I watched our waiter retreat to the front of the diner, wistfully daydreaming of what it would be like to be on a date with him instead of this bozo in front of me. The only thing I did appreciate Jack for, I decided, was his endless supply of conversation topics. There was virtually nothing I had to do to keep up the chatter which was nice for a quiet girl like me. Until I got to know someone I never really felt comfortable with conversations. They always seemed to fall flat within a matter of minutes. The art of chatting people up was Andrea's expertise, not mine.

"You know what I mean, Maddie?" I heard Jack ask, and I quickly snapped back to the present. It seemed his salad had been returned to him bone dry, and he was now drizzling dressing across with more care than I gave to my hair in the morning.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely." I replied picking up my burger and getting ready to chow down.

"You're a cool girl, Maddie." He paused his chatter to flash me a blinding smile, and no matter how much I didn't want them to, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered for a moment. I wasn't quite familiar with the fluttery-stomach feeling (it happened to me only with men I didn't stand a chance in hell with), and I was taken aback that Jack had been able to coax one out of me. I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks, and almost dropped my lunch in order to hide my girly embarrassment. Man this guy was good.

As I was contemplating the startling effect a single smile could have on a woman, I noticed a strange pair of men walk through the front door of the diner. The taller of the two wore a business suit with a pair of brand new black converse sneakers, and the stocky, more muscular man wore a white tee shirt under a black leather vest and dark blue jeans with black cowboy boots. Since I was in the process of trying to fulfill my dream of joining the NYPD, I made it a point to take down the details of their dress. What struck me as odd was the fact that they were obviously entering the diner together, but sat down at opposite ends of the restaurant. The man with the suit walked right by us and went to sit by the kitchen entrance while the muscle guy went and sat by the far windows. From there he made a motion with his hand.

"Could be a signal." I murmured under my breath and kept my eyes on him.

"Hmmm?" Jack asked wiping his mouth off on his napkin, and looking at me curiously. His back was to the door so he hadn't noticed the men.

"Nothing." I said quickly, and took the first bite of my burger which was still waiting patiently in my hands.

I smiled as I chewed and laughed at my foolishness. Of course it wasn't a signal. Sure the men had come into the diner together, but that didn't mean they knew each other. I was just trying to create bad guys out of ordinary men in order to occupy my wandering mind.

Not a moment after this very thought had crossed my mind, there was a huge slam and the front door of the diner opened to reveal a giant man with a pistol pointed directly at the cashier. A few people started screaming and there was pandemonium as everyone tried to get away from the weapon. A man behind the gunman stood to block the exit.

"Where is it?!" The giant man screamed with a thick city accent. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the suited man draw something out of his pocket and his partner did the same across the room. "Give it to me now or yer all dead!" The screaming and yelling intensified. A child began to cry.

My brain was screaming at me to do something, but I couldn't move. Across from me, Jack seemed to be in the same predicament with his fork poised halfway between his mouth and his plate. His eyes darted wildly from the tall man in the corner to the kitchen door, and back again. It was almost as if I could see his brain working, and I knew he was thinking of making a run for it. I wanted to tell him to knock it off, but my mouth was dry, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I swallowed hard, and tried to glance around at the other customers.

The diner wasn't full, but there were a good amount of people. Almost everyone was shouting at the cashier to do something, but the poor man just stood there with his hands above his head insisting in a high pitched whimper that he had no idea what the man was looking for. A woman was in hysterics in the corner booth by the window as she tried to dial for help on her cell phone.

Of course! Call 911! I reached for my cell, cursing my stupidity.

"Nobody move!" The tall man behind me yelled, and I froze. "Nobody move or I'll shoot!" I didn't think he was playing around. None of these men were.

I watched the tall man walk by me again, and I kept my eyes focused on his new converse sneakers. No use getting shot for unnecessary eye contact. There was a slight shift in the table and I noticed Jack had shrunk down in his seat while making an effort to hide his face.

"If you don't hand it over in ten seconds this place is finished." The tall man said in a deathly calm voice. I didn't know who he was talking to. Apparently no one else did either because no one moved.

Except Jack.

In his desperation to get out, Jack jumped up and started to sprint for the kitchen door. He didn't get very far at all.

With a move I wasn't expecting, the stocky man with the boots whipped out his gun and fired. Jack fell at my feet.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well what have we hear?" The tall man had spun around at the gunshot, and was now making his way calmly to where I sat. My heart pounded, and my eyes stayed on his pistol.

"Jack Fucking Palmer." He stated as if surprised, "Well ain't this convenient." The man said taking the dead man's wallet out of his pants. He pocketed it without viewing its contents. The way he said Jack's name made me assume they'd known each other for some reason. I wondered if he was the thing they were looking for.

"His date I presume?" The man was looking at me. He had eyes the color of slate, and a single scar ran from the corner of his right nostril down to his lip. I was surprised I hadn't noticed it before.

"I-I..." I couldn't get the words out.

"Come on now, beautiful, speak up." I closed my eyes and froze in fear as he cocked his pistol and pointed it at my head. Oddly enough, however, my mind didn't feel as frozen as the rest of my body. I wanted to tell the man I had no idea who Jack was because I'd just met him today, but there wasn't enough moisture in my mouth for my tongue to function correctly. I licked my dry lips.

"Take your time, doll." The man gestured to my glass of water, and I carefully took a sip. There was a slight movement behind the man in front of me, and I noticed the cashier take out her phone. Help would be here soon. It made me feel a little more confident, but I couldn't help glancing down at the dead body at my feet.

"I don't know Jack." I finally got out. "I just met him today."

"Of course you did." Slate eyes drawled sitting down where Jack had been sitting moments earlier. "I bet you also didn't know Jack owed me a lot of money I still expect to be paid."

"I-I didn't know that." I replied genuinely. My pulse raced. I just needed to keep him talking long enough for the police to get here. I couldn't let this get out of hand, or people would get hurt.

"Well ain't that just lovely?" The man leaned closer to me, and I moved back to get away from those slate colored holes. His eyes scared me. "I'm not sure I believe you, love. How 'bout me and you have a talk after my fellas clear this place out, alright?"

"Wait!" I shouted as he started to signal his men to act. "I-I'll help you, just let everyone go or there's no deal." I tried to sound confident, but my voice cracked. I swallowed nervously trying to think of some kind of information I could give them.

"I wasn't aware we were makin' a deal." The man snarled and I closed my eyes as I felt the cold metal of his gun at my temple. "I'm the one callin' the shots here, kiddo, and we're gonna do this my way. No witnesses."

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't even open my eyes I was so scared. This man was going to have all these innocent people killed unless I did something to stop it, but I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even move. My mind raced as I tried to think up something else to do, but there was nothing.

"Wait!" I screamed as the finger of his other hand moved to push a strand of hair off my temple, and his pistol clicked menacingly. "I'm not telling you anything unless these people live, I told you that. I.... I know where the thing you're looking for is." Might as well lie. I wasn't going to live even if I did know where it was, that much was obvious.

"Oh so now we're getting somewhere." The man sneered, and his scar twisted horribly. The cool feeling was released from my head. I opened my eyes, and saw that he'd backed off. It was easier to think without him in my face.

"Alright, gentlemen. Show them out the back way, but make sure they know better than to breathe a word." The man with the boots and the giant grunted in response and herded the people through the kitchen door. Suddenly it was eerily quiet. I hadn't realized how comforting it was to have other people with me. Now it was just me, the tall man with the slate eyes, and his buddy by the door. I breathed a sigh knowing at least there were only going to be two deaths today.

"Business time. Where is it?"

"It's... ummm." Where would I keep something important if I were trying to hide it?

The gun was pointed at my head again. "You better make goddamn sure I didn't let all those witnesses go for nothing, doll."

"In his house! It's i-in his house..." The moment I said it I realized how stupid it sounded, and I knew he knew I was lying. With a look of absolute rage he swung his pistol at my head. I ducked, but not soon enough. The barrel slammed into the side of my head, and the sheer force of the action knocked me out of the booth and onto the cool tiles of the diner floor. My glasses skittered into the corner.

"Of course it's not in his fuckin' house you stupid whore!" He screamed, and my tears leaked onto the floor. "You think I'm stupid! I've been all over every goddamn inch of that bastard's house, that's why he's moved into your fuckin' apartment! I cleaned him out!" I didn't know what he was talking about. He kicked me, and I curled up instinctively. Just as he drew back his foot for another shot, sirens sounded down the street.

"Shit!" He swore violently and yanked me up by my hood. "Walk, bitch!" He shouted, dragging me behind him as his gang reassembled around him.

"What do you want us to do, boss?" The man with the boots asked, returning from the kitchen.

"Get the hell outta here!" The four men scattered, and I was thrown out the front door and onto the sidewalk. "You stupid bitch!" The tall man screamed one last time before pointing his gun at me.

"Stop! Don't shoot!" A voice shouted over the blaring sirens and several car doors slammed. I looked up slowly from my place on the ground, but my vision was going fast. Everything was spinning and all I could see was a pair of dark black shoes sprinting towards me before there was a single gunshot, and the world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! Sorry it gets kinda long.... I think the next one will be kinda short and boring though so enjoy while you can heh :P :)**

"Hey, wake up! Listen to me, Madeline. Can you hear me? Stay with me." Someone was shouting at me through a white fog. I didn't recognize their voice. It was a deep masculine voice with a thick city accent, and at first I thought it was the giant back to finish me off. Or maybe we'd both been shot and we were in heaven together. In heaven with a giant. Kind of like Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack.... He was _dead_. His glassy eyes started at me through the fog, and I squeezed my eyes tight.

"Hey! Don't give up on me. Look at me." As the white fog dissipated, a face slowly came into focus. "Look at me, Madeline. Right here." I didn't know why he was yelling at me. Come to think of it, how the heck did he know my name?

"Madeline!" I had almost closed my eyes, but I focused back in on him as he talked to me. There was a dull throbbing in my head and chest which made it hard to hear him sometimes, but I caught some of what he shouted, and that made it easier to concentrate. His voice was nice to listen to. From what I could tell he was nice to look at too: short dark hair, red lips. He didn't smile much, but I wanted him to. He had the prettiest blue eyes I'd ever seen, and I knew they'd be much kinder if he smiled. There were dark circles under those same eyes, however, which made him look extremely tired. I tried to ask him why he was so tired, but I couldn't get anything out of my mouth. Something tasted like blood.

Suddenly there were siren's. Mystery man was shouting at someone else in the distance, so I closed my eyes. I didn't want to be drooling blood in front of this person. I wanted to make a good impression. At this thought, something in the back of my mind laughed at me.

"_Now's not exactly the time to be getting the hots for some guy, Maddie_." It mocked.

"_Why not? Its not like he's real._." I countered indignantly before realizing I was arguing with myself.

"Hey! Listen to me, kid!" My thoughts were shattered at his urgent shouts, and I wondered why he kept doing that. I was off the ground now, and my chest was throbbing more than ever. In fact, it was starting to hurt pretty badly. I tried to look down at it, but my head was too heavy to move . _Probably where that guy hit you. That hurt...._

I was on a surface again, and realized my mystery man had just carried me to an ambulance. Something clicked. I'd been shot. That bastard had actually shot me. I was bleeding.....

Right then I knew I needed to look down. I tried, and someone with a white glove restrained me, but not before I caught a glimpse of a dark stain spreading across the lower half of my favorite hoodie.

_Jesus that's gonna hurt tomorrow....._ Was the last thing I though before a mask was put over my face, and everything went black once again.

The next time I woke up it was because of a faint beeping noise. It came from somewhere to my right. I had no idea what it was coming from or what it wanted from me, but it was giving me a headache. The repetitive sound was so persistent that I finally decided that if I opened my eyes it would leave me alone.

Unfortunately opening my eyes didn't help at all. In fact, the sudden brilliance of the white light only caused my head to pound harder, and I groaned before shutting my eyes again.

"Maddie?" I heard a familiar voice question from beyond the beeping, and I tried to figure out who it might be. Jack? No Jack was still _dead_.

"Maddie, can you hear me?" Someone took my hand and rubbed their thumb over my palm soothingly. The handsome man from my dream before? No the voice was definitely feminine.

"If you can hear me squeeze my hand, Maddie." It was Andrea. A wave of comfort washed over me knowing someone I knew and loved sat with me, even if she had gotten me into whatever kind of mess I was in at the moment.

"Andy..." I tried to mumble, but it came out sounding halfway between a grunt and a moan. I tried opening my eyes again.

"Maddie! You're awake!" My best friend started shouting for someone from the hallway as I carefully squinted up at her. The blinding whiteness that had first assaulted my eyes was fading into a hazy mist, and I could just make out the outline of Andrea's face.

"Andy... I tried again. It sounded much more intelligible the second time around.

"Oh Maddie....." Andrea's face zoomed closer as she leaned over me, and her features became more distinguishable. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her nose was bright red. I realized I wasn't wearing my glasses so nothing was well focused. "Oh Maddie I'm so sorry." She began to cry, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I got you into this whole mess, it's all my fault. How was I supposed to know Jack was.... was...." She gestured wildly, but ended up sobbing anew and buried her face in her hands.

"It's ok Andy." I croaked through my dry throat. I didn't want her to be this upset because of me. It was just an accident.

"It's not, Maddie, it's all a huge mess." Andrea dried her eyes on her sleeve and looked down my hand in hers. "They think... they think we knew or something. They think we were involved. I've tried to explain it to them but they've already questioned me, and they want to talk to you, but we didn't know if you were going to make it and- oh god it's just horrible."

I wanted to comfort my hysterical friend, mostly because I knew she was probably over-reacting (she had been known to do that before) and also because she wasn't making any sense. Who thought we knew what? What were we involved in? What on earth did any of this have to do with us?

"I don't know what you're talking about," I managed to get out before my chest tightened and I was racked by a fit of coughs. Andrea put her hands to her face and sobbed while two nurses dressed in blue and a doctor with a white coat rushed in to help me.

"It's alright, Madeline. You're gonna be ok." One of the nurses said while she and her partner bustled about and checked all the monitors I appeared to be hooked up to.

"How are you feeling in general... Madeline is it?" The doctor asked after I'd finished coughing up a rather painful lung.

I cleared my throat and nodded. "Maddie. I'm alright. It hurts to move...."

The doctor smiled at me and patted my arm sympathetically. "Yes I'm sure it does. You've suffered a major concussion, two broken ribs and a gunshot wound in your side. Fortunately , neither the bullet or the ribs punctured anything important. Unfortunately, it's still going to hurt for a while. I've prescribed painkillers for you which I will be briefing Andrea on, and you'll be bed ridden and under our care probably for the next week at the least."

"Sounds great...." I rasped, and the doctor chuckled.

"Let's get you something to drink."

After sitting me up and pouring half a glass of water down my parched throat, the doctor assured Andrea I was going to be just fine and left with the nurses.

"Jesus, Maddie." Andrea said coming closer to my bed again. She looked as if she would burst into tears any second. "Look at you... you look... you look...."

But just what I looked like I'll never know. There was a light tap on the door and in stepped a tall man dressed in a nice looking jacket and jeans.

"Andrea I think it's about time I spoke with your friend here." He said. She nodded slightly, looking nervously between the two of us, but made no move to get up. "Alone." He added sternly, and she jumped off her chair stuttering her apology.

"S-sorry, detective. Maddie... you up to this?" Not knowing exactly what "this" was, I nodded carefully, and Andrea left the room looking slightly sick.

The man looked at me, and I recognized him as my mystery dream man. He didn't look exactly like I remembered, but very similar: scruffy dark hair, red lips set in a straight line, and gorgeous baby blue eyes. He just seemed a bit more _real _this time around I decided, but everything was still a bit fuzzy. I looked to the bedside table for my glasses, but they weren't there. They must've fallen somewhere.

"Madeline? Detective Flack, NYPD. I realize you may not feel up to it, but I need to ask you a few questions." The detective flipped open a black book in his hand, and sat down in the chair Andrea had recently vacated.

"Maddie." I murmured trying to look anywhere but at those amazing eyes. _At least you haven't forgotten how to become a muttering fool...._ I scoffed at my fluttering stomach, and silently reminded myself I'd just been shot. I wasn't going to impress anyone for quite some time unless they had a thing for strange battle wounds.

"Maddie it is then. So you're friend told us as much as she knew about your blind date fiasco, but I need to be sure we've got all the facts."

"Alright," I nodded and cleared my throat again, "I get it. But... she said you... think we were involved?"

Detective Flack chuckled humorlessly, and readjusted his position in the chair to face me better. "We have no proof of that yet, and we won't draw any conclusions. We deal with facts. Just tell us your side of the story. Try to remember as much as you can."

"I just remember meeting Jack at the restaurant. He was wearing this fancy jacket, jeans, and a collared shirt. I think it was blue, but you guys probably know that already. He was pretty clean cut." I paused to cough up my other lung. Looking almost concerned, the detective offered to get me another glass of water, but I shook my head and assured him I was alright. "I just need to... finish this all at once." I admitted, "I don't know if I like remembering it that much...."

"Understood. Take your time."

"Well I could probably tell you a lot of unnecessary information about the restaurant if you wanted. I'll admit I probably paid more attention to those four walls than I did to Jack's conversation, I'm sorry. That's probably the part I should have been listening to isn't it..."

"Yeah could've been." Detective Flack was writing something in his book, and didn't look up. "Do you remember anything he talked about?"

"Well.... he started by talking about his job. He owns a night club I believe... ummm... something really corny I think.... The Love Shack maybe? I think that's what it was." When it appeared my guess wasn't going to be confirmed or denied, I cleared my throat once again and went on. "After that he talked a lot about his house. That's kinda where I tuned out.... I can't remember where he said he lived. I think some suite kind of close to the business district. Sounded like a fancy place. He owned exotic fish, that I do remember."

"Exotic fish?" The detective interjected.

"Yeah, fish. I don't know what kinds...."

"That's alright. Continue."

"Yeah well after the fish conversation he started talking about some girlfriend. An ex I believe."

"Must've made for great conversation." I heard Detective Flack mutter and I laughed. He looked up and his mouth curved into a semi-grin, which stayed longer this time. "Sorry. Palmer's starting to sound like a real charmer."

"Oh he was." I agreed. "But yeah I didn't listen to the girlfriend part very much. I don't think he got very far. The only thing I remember is that she still worked for him. That's about when our food came. He got a Caesar Salad which he sent back because they'd dressed it for him, and I got a burger." I paused to clear my throat again.

"Hey listen, let me get you some water." Detective Flack said flipping his book closed and standing up. "Be right back," He added ignoring my protests.

"Thanks." I croaked gratefully when he returned with an entire water bottle.

"Anything for the cooperative witness." He said grinning again and sitting back down. "Now where were we?"

"At the lunch menu. You didn't buy this water with your own money, did you?"

He laughed and fished his black book out of his pocket. "It was probably the department's money. Besides, last time I checked I was allowed to spend my allowance money on anything I wanted to. That ok with you, mother?" His tone was harsh, but the barely concealed smile told me he wasn't as ticked off as he sounded. It was a silly thing, but I was glad I'd gotten him to laugh.

"Fine. But remind me to pay you back someday." I handed him the half empty bottle and he set it on the table next to the bed.

"Can't guarantee anything, but I'll try and remember." He winked and I blushed so furiously I swore he was about to laugh at me. The seasoned detective held it together however, and we were back to business.

"So yeah the lunch....." I silently cursed myself for becoming so flustered, "Ummmm..... the waiter brought him back a new salad, and I think that's about where the two guys entered the diner."

"Two guys?"

"Yeah. One tall one. The guy who... who shot me I guess." I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the sudden throbbing in my abdomen. "He came in with some other guy. A shorter one. Wider and more muscular. He was wearing cowboy boots and.... a leather vest. The tall one.... he wore a suit and new converse. I remember thinking that was odd." I didn't know if any of the information I'd gathered was what Detective Flack was looking for so I paused.

"Do you remember anything about them that might identify them in a crowd?" He asked when I didn't continue.

"Ummm... yeah. The tall one... he had this scar." Thinking about it scared me for some reason. "From his right nostril down to his lip. And his eyes...." I stared down at my hands. Suddenly I was afraid. If I told the detective about this man I knew he would come after me. The thought of seeing him again terrified me more than actually dealing with him in the diner had. I never wanted to see those eyes again. "They were slate grey...." I stared down at the blue bed sheet next to my shaking hands. "The two men... they sat at opposite ends of the room. The tall man p-passed us and sat near the kitchen. I remember thinking the one by the window was signaling someone...."

"Signaling? How so?" I looked up and realized Detective Flack was looking at me intently. He leaned forward. "Remember this now and I promise I won't ask again."

"I know it's just... harder than I thought. I... I don't want him to come after me." I looked back up at him and did my best to hide the fear. "That may sound silly or something, but... it's just strange to think about.... H-he wanted to kill me..."

"And hopefully that will be the last time he gets a chance, Maddie. That's what we're here for." His face was passive, but the expression in his blue eyes was sincere, and I felt a little better. "What kind of signal did he give?"

"H-he put up his arm, like this," I demonstrated with my free hand. "Like he was waving almost."

"Ok." Detective Flack moved back in his chair again, and wrote something down in his book. "What happened then?"

"A giant came through the door. That's the only way to describe him. He was huge. Tall and wide. I think he was wearing black sweats of some sort and a grey hoodie with the sleeves cut off. He came in waving a gun and people panicked. A woman started dialing her phone to call the police when the two men -the tall one and the short one- got up and went to join the giant in the middle of the diner. I guess Jack recognized the tall man because he kind of hid his face."

"Did they say anything?" Detective Flack interrupted without looking up.

"Yeah... they kept screaming at someone to give "it" to them. Whatever "it" was. I don't really know who they were talking to. I guess Jack did though because that's when he ran, and..." I closed my eyes and tried not to think of how Jack looked laying at my feet with a bullet in his head. I'd seen cadavers before, but it certainly hadn't prepared me for seeing someone I knew shot dead.

"They shot him?"

"Yeah the short guy did. It was so fast...."

"And probably painless." Detective Flack looked up and smiled more out of habit than actual compassion. He'd probably dealt with hundreds of witnesses like me before. Maybe even cops didn't get used to death.

"He just lay at my feet... and then the tall guy came over and took out his wallet. He seemed to know Jack and assumed I was his girlfriend. He asked me for information but I said I wouldn't tell unless he let everyone go. I-I didn't want more people to die. The giant and the cowboy boots guy took the people out the back way so it was just me and the two other guys left."

"There was someone else?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. A second guy came in with the big guy to kinda block the door or something." Detective Flack nodded and wrote it down. "So once it was just us he asked me if I knew Jack owed him a lot of money, but I got the feeling that wasn't the only thing Jack owed him. After I told him it was in his house he started yelling at me and hit me pretty hard I guess. He said he'd already searched Jack's house for "it" and said that was why Jack had come to live with me. I guess that's 'cause he thought I was Jack's girlfriend. Jack must've moved in with that ex he was talking about or something."

"Yeah maybe," the detective said thoughtfully, "if that was his most recent girlfriend you could be on to something there. We'll be sure to check her out."

"Ok. Yeah after that you came and he told the rest of his team to get out. And well I guess you know the rest...."

"Mmhmm..." Detective Flack mumbled as he finished writing. Once he was done he snapped his book closed and stood up. "Well thank you, Maddie. I'm sure this will help. You have a good head for details."

"Thank you! I'm in the process of....Well, I want to be an M.E. actually..."

"No way!" He looked genuinely impressed, and I grinned.

"Yeah. I've always wanted to be involved somehow in your field. My dad was a cop so I guess that's where I got the idea. I've sent in an application, but haven't heard anything yet."

"Well I can let Mac and Sid know you're interested if you want." Detective Flack shrugged, "I'll be sure to mention you've already impressed me with your powerful observation skills."

My face was blazing, "Mac Taylor? Ah man if you would do that it'd be awesome. Thank you."

"No prob. Thank _you_. You think of anything you forgot to mention you let me know." He turned to go. "And listen, you better finish that water. I don't want my hard earned money going to waste."

I laughed again. "Alright I'll do my best."

The second Detective Flack had gotten out of the door, Andrea came rushing in to resume her place in the chair by my bed. She visibly relaxed when she saw I was smiling.

"Was he that good?" She joked poking my arm in fun. "Don't tell me those were puppy dog eyes you were making at his back when I came in! Good thing I didn't have a chance to mention you look like hell."

I laughed again and poked her back. "Don't I always? Too bad you couldn't have set me up on a date with a guy like that."

"Aw shut up, Maddie." Andrea's face fell again, and I took pity on her.

"Geeze Andy, it's ok." I grabbed her hand in reassurance, and held it gently. "I was only kidding. Don't' feel bad."

"How can I not, Maddie?" She asked looking as if she was going to cry again. "You almost got killed...."

"Through no fault of your own. You had no idea Jack was involved in... this whole thing, whatever it is."

"Yeah, but I can't s top feeling like "this whole thing" didn't even have to happen. Like, I totally set you up with Jack knowing nothing was going to come out of it. You've never been into guys like him-"

"God I'm glad you know that." I cut in grinning. "I was beginning to think you'd totally forgotten."

Andrea smiled and sniffed. "No of course I knew. I just thought... maybe it'd be fun to set you up with a different kind of guy. None of your other dates went very far so I thought it was worth a shot."

"No pun intended I'm guessing." I laughed nodding to the lower half of my torso, and Andrea giggled.

"No pun intended."


	4. Chapter 4

**Kind of a short and boring chapter full of background info and the like....**

After two more days in the intensive care wing (most of which I slept through) I was moved to a recovery room for the remainder of my stay. Andrea, of course, was my most frequent visitor coming everyday and even staying overnight when she was able to. The rest of my visitors comprised of my other friends from school and my mother. She wasn't able to come see me until after I'd been moved because of her work schedule, but she'd called me every night since I'd first arrived at the hospital.

My mother and I were close. Ever since my dad died we'd been pretty inseparable. She needed me for support so I stuck around, and because of that she quickly became my rock. Up until "the accident" I had been the definition of a daddy's girl, and he had spoiled me like no father could. As a kid I was into sports and more outdoorsy kinds of activities. Mom worked late nights at the local hospital, so my dad was my chauffeur. His death ripped a piece out of me that I was pretty sure I'd never be able to replace. Softball games and camping trips just weren't the same without him and never would be. I buried my dreams of becoming a cop along with my daddy, and quit my teams so I could spend more time with my mom. Or at least that's what I told myself. Truthfully I knew it was so I wouldn't have to think about him.

The first few years of school were tough. Since I hadn't been doing anything but academics for most of my high school career, I got a full ride to NYU for biology. Friends were scarce the first year of college, but by the middle of my sophomore year I'd met Andrea and she'd let me into her group of friends, most of which were studying to become doctors. At the time I was struggling to decide what I wanted to do since all I'd ever wanted to do was become a cop, but I knew I couldn't go through with it without my dad there with me. A doctor was my next best option. By working in a lab I could work in the field I'd dreamed of since I was a little girl, but I could stay behind the scenes. The more I played with the idea the more I liked it, so -with a little motivation from my new friends- I completed my degree at NYU. Our graduation had been just a little over two months prior, and I'd already sent in my application for review at the M.E's office. I hadn't heard anything back from them, but I hoped that, with the detective's help, I might have found my way in.

Once I'd been through the majority of my physical training and was well on the road to a full recovery, I was sent home to mine and Andrea's apartment. My first night back was low key. My mother stayed the night since she'd be leaving in the morning and didn't want to book a hotel room, but the next night Andrea threw a coming home party for me. The guest list was comprised of myself, Andrea, our friends Jackie and Lex with their boyfriends Aaron and Drew, and a few other people I knew from school but wasn't that well acquainted with. Andrea was a socialite and I had a hard time convincing her that ten people would be enough for a party.

"Are you sure everyone will have someone to talk to?" She asked me anxiously as we set out dishes of chips and veggies along with a variety of dips and other appetizers. "I tried to invite people I thought would get along well. Carrie can pretty much talk to anyone. I dunno about Nick, but I guess he'll find someone. I can always chat with him if he looks lonely. Maybe I should introduce you guys again. You're both the quiet type."

"Andy." I interrupted her quickly before she tried to play matchmaker again. "I'm plenty content with sitting around on my ass watching people chat amongst themselves, you know that. I know that sounds boring, but I know I'm gonna pass out before everyone leaves. I'm tired already." I punctuated this last statement with a well-timed yawn. "Seriously."

Andy laughed and left the living room to go rummage around in the fridge. She came back out carrying a bottle of wine and a stack of cups. "Oh Maddie I love you. I don't know why you put up with me and my silly parties anyways."

"Me neither most of the time." I grinned, "They keep my life interesting at least. I'd be a hermit without you and your crazy parties." I reached across the small table in the front room and gave her a hug. "Thank you for doing this for me. Even though I complain you know way down deep I do actually enjoy these things."

"I know. That's why they still happen." She replied attempting to arrange the many bowls and plates on the table to accommodate her cups. "Run into the kitchen will you, and see if that little table is still behind the fridge?"

I laughed, and with a fake sigh of exasperation went off in search of the small folding table.

About an hour or two into the party, I found myself sitting on the front room couch, squished between Jackie and Andrea while listening to Aaron talk animatedly about some fishing trip he'd gone on with his father. I knew it was supposed to be a funny story, but I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to keep track of the dialogue. After my one hundredth gigantic yawn, Jackie finally nudged me from her seat next to me and asked how I was doing.

"Alright." I replied after I'd received a sufficient amount of oxygen. "About to pass out though...."

"We're keeping you up, aren't we?" She said squeezing my shoulders affectionately. "Go get some sleep. Andrea will hold down the fort."

"I know she will." I laughed. "You think it's ok though? No one will mind?"

"They won't." She reassured me and pushed me off the couch. "Off to bed you poor thing."

I suppressed another yawn as I shuffled my way to my room making sure to say goodnight to everyone I could.

"Ah sleep...." I mumbled sitting down carefully on the edge of my bed. It still hurt a bit to bend over so I kicked off my shoes with my feet and curled up without even bothering to undress. I'd change in the morning.

Just as I was about to doze off, however, the blaring ring of the phone jarred me awake.

"God dammit." I groaned pulling a pillow over my head. That didn't help though, and two seconds later I heard Andrea yell at me that I had a phone call. I groped around for the phone next to my bed and answered it sleepily.

"Mom?" I asked since she was the only one who actually called our apartment number. An answering chuckle told me just how wrong my guess was.

"Not quite." A masculine voice laughed, and I inwardly smacked myself. "Detective Flack. We talked at the hospital."

"Oh yeah. Hey." I groaned quietly and tried to wake myself up. Of course he would call right when I reached the point of incoherency. I prayed he wouldn't notice.

"Did I wake you up?" There was probably a reason he was a detective.

"No, no. Hadn't fallen asleep yet it's 'k. Did you.... need something?" I winced as I attempted to sit up, but my aching chest muscles resisted.

"Yeah, listen. I know you just got out of the hospital and all, but we just got hold of someone who may be able to give us a lead to those guys at the diner, and we're gonna follow up on it. We need you to come in to do an identity confirmation if possible."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah whenever's good. Tomorrow afternoon should be fine with us."

"Alright yeah I can do that."

"Kay great. See you then."

And with a click he was gone. Fortunately I didn't have much time to think about my embarrassing excuse for a conversation, because a few seconds later I was out like a light. If everything worked out alright, I'd have a chance to redeem myself tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Soooo sorry for the horrible lack of action things have just been super busy.... But here we go! To the precinct! Finally some action! :P I'm a bit stuck after this chapter, however.... We'll see where it goes. Suggestions are welcome!!**

"Morning ma'am. May I help you?" An officer greeted me politely as I made my way over to his desk. His name plate read Johnson.

"Uh yes I believe so. Detective Flack called last night and said I had to come in to identify someone."

"Name?"

"Maddie Chandler."

Johnson flipped through a stack of papers to his left and carefully pulled one out not too far from the top. "Madeline Chandler?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. Madeline."

"No problemo." He said standing up. I followed him through a door behind his desk and we entered a room full of officers and citizens navigating their way through a rather crowded grouping of desks. Everywhere I looked there were papers getting passed, shuffled, read, and signed before they were carted over to a large set of filing drawers off to the side.

"'Scuse me." A heavy set policeman grunted as he brushed past me to get to these drawers.

"This way, Ms. Chandler." I heard Johnson call over the light chatter, and I turned to exit the room through a different doorway. "Flack will meet you in there." The officer pointed at a doorway to my right. He's running a little late.

"Alright." I replied as the door slammed behind me and I was left alone in the hallway. Somewhere ahead of me I could hear voices arguing, but besides that there was silence. "So... this is creepy." I muttered looking around me at the dark colored walls and grey ceiling tiles. Not quite sure if I was just supposed to go into the room alone, I cautiously tapped on the door. When no reply came from inside, I slipped inside closing the door carefully behind me.

The interior of the room was just as ominous as the hallway had been. The walls were painted dark green and there were the same grey ceiling tiles. A simple table stood in the center of the room with two chairs placed across from each other. One chair faced me and the other I could only see the back of. I carefully pulled the latter out and took a seat. There was a window on the wall in front of me along with another door. Unlike the door I'd entered through, this one was grey and had a small window occupying most of its upper half. On the wall to my right there was a rectangular recess that looked as if it were a mirror of some sort. All I could see in it was my reflection.

As I was contemplating the purpose of this mirror, the door with the window was pushed open suddenly and in walked none other than the head of the New York CSI lab himself, Mac Taylor. I stood up suddenly, and my chair scraped unpleasantly across the floor.

"Detective Taylor!" I exclaimed in surprise. He was easy to recognize from the many lectures he'd given at NYU. I'd looked up to him for as long as I could remember, and he was one of my biggest role models.

The detective chuckled at the grin plastered across my face and stuck out his hand to shake mine firmly. "Well it seems you know me, but I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure....."

"Maddie. Madeline Chandler. I've been to a ton of your lectures, detective Taylor. I'm sorry if I sound like an over-enthusiastic fan when I say this, but they were incredibly inspiring."

"Please call me Mac, Maddie. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I'm glad you liked my talks. Flack told me you're looking to become a CSI, and I believe after this is done with I will have a chance to discuss that with you. Please sit." He gestured to the chair behind me with a small smile as he pulled out his own to sit down. "I'm afraid, however, that the subject we have to discuss now is not quite as pleasant. I need to brief you on a few things before asking you to identify a man, and taking your statement as a witness. Detective Flack was supposed to meet you, but I sent him on an errand."

I nodded, and sat forward in my chair to listen.

"Earlier this morning we apprehended a man we believe was in the dinner with you that day. We got an anonymous tip about three days ago telling us the location of the groups hideout, but needed to be sure of its validity before following up. It seems, Maddie, that we're searching for a group of men a great deal more dangerous than we originally thought. Now I can't tell you the exact nature of their dealings yet, but I need to be sure you understand the risk of involvement."

"I think I do." I replied a little uncertainly.

"There is no doubt the men realize the possibility you're still alive. They won't want to risk you giving us too much information. On top of that, I believe they were lead to believe you were somehow close to Jack?"

"Uh yeah I guess I kinda told them that. I wasn't though." I added quickly.

"Yes we know. But they don't. You are an important witness Maddie. You can identify at least four important men from their ring."

"I understand, but I definitely just want to be as much help to you guys as I can. So uh... where do I have to go?"

"Well," Mac said standing up, "So long as you understand what we're up against you can follow me, and I'll hand you off to Flack. He'll show you the line up."

Just as the two of us had exited the interrogation room by the door that Mac had entered through, the aforementioned detective rounded the corner with a manila envelope in his hand.

"Here's those papers, Mac."

"Thanks, Flack. Danny and I'll be in the room with him in about five. We gotta find out if he'll tell us anything, and in the meantime you can take Maddie around."

"Alright will do."

Mac left and it was just Flack and I left in the hall. It was then that I realized just how much taller than me the detective was. It was kind of intimidating.

"So I'm assuming this is some kind of interrogation thing?" I offered when he didn't say anything.

"Yeah we got Mac and Danny questioning our perp, and we'll be standing over there." Flack gestured around the corner, then turned to look at me with those blue eyes I remembered quite well. "You ok with all this?" He asked when I swallowed anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just nervous I guess. What happens if I can't identify him?"

"Nothing much. He goes back to roaming the streets, and I lose my badge for catching the wrong guy." The serious detective replied with his usual frown in place. I gave him a confused look. That's not how I thought it went….

"You serious?"

"Dead serious." Flack turned on his heel and started to walk down the hall to where we'd be observing the interrogation. I jogged slightly to catch up.

"Hey, wait!" I called, and heard a low chuckle. Looking up at him, I saw the small smile playing across his features. I punched his arm, and surprised myself with my boldness. "Not funny..."

"Ooh bruiser," He grinned down at me and shrugged. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. Seriously though, it's alright if you can't remember right now. This guy's got enough junk on his record to set up shop here for a while. He's not going anywhere."

"Ok." We turned the corner and entered another, longer hallway filled with doorways. This hallway seemed to be the main site of traffic for the building because it was wider than the others, and connected with a large staircase at the far end. Glancing behind me I noticed that we'd just come out of one of a series of smaller hallways, all which had doors similar to the one to the interrogation room. I tried to think of something to say that might spark some sort of conversation, but I couldn't think of anything appropriate for the situation.

Just as I was beginning to feel my silence was becoming rather awkward, we stopped in front of a window looking into a room very much like the one I'd just left. Mac and another man I assumed must be Danny sat with their backs to me. The man that faced me however, I recognized immediately. It was the giant from the diner.

"That's the guy!" I exclaimed before Flack could say anything, "He's the one with the gun."

"He shot Palmer?"

"No, no." I shook my head and looked away from the window. I'd realized he couldn't see me, but he still made me nervous. "He ran into the diner and threatened the cashier. He kept demanding they give 'it' to him. Whatever 'it' is…." I trailed off and shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Alright, great. That's really great," Flack was looking into the room distractedly. I glanced in quickly and noticed things had gotten heated between the men inside. Danny had come around behind the big man and was showing him a series of documents that looked like photos. His wild hand motions and muffled shouting indicated his frustration. I watched as Mac stood up, and also began pointing at the documents on the table. What made the situation so strange, however, was that the giant man wasn't getting angry or upset. He didn't even appear to be listening to the two men. The giant simply sat in his chair and laughed. It wasn't a simple chuckle, either, but a full blown guffaw. Thigh slapping and everything. He seemed to be mocking his captors. I had no idea what was making him laugh like that, but I could tell it was infuriating the two men interrogating him.

"What's going on?" I asked the detective who stood fidgeting worriedly next to me.

"I dunno," he grunted, "Hold on. I've got to go handle this."

Wordlessly he turned on his heel and rounded the corner. Not knowing what else to do, I stayed put. I watched through the hidden window as Flack entered the room. He also attempted to get the man to acknowledge the pictures, but this just incited more laughter. I watched this whole scene continue for about two more minutes before looking away again. I didn't like that giant man at all, or what he reminded me of.

Suddenly there was a loud crash, and I whirled around to look into the room again. Something one of the three officers said had finally gotten to the man. He was enraged. The table was thrown on its side in a corner and Danny lay on the floor next to it. He wasn't moving. I watched helplessly as Flack, Mac, and another officer who'd been guarding the door attempted to restrain their captive, but they were having a very hard time of it. The man truly was a giant. He was at least half a foot taller than Detective Flack-who was the tallest of the officers-and several feet wider. Huge muscles bulged out from under his shirt as he screamed and tried to get at the fallen man.

Mac, swiftly dodging a fist the size of a melon and grabbing the offending arm, shouted something at the officer closest to the door. The man had both arms thrown around the mid section of the fighter, and was pulling him away from the corner. Hooking one arm around the wide torso, the assisting officer tried valiantly to reach for the doorknob of the interrogation room, but couldn't reach. With a free leg he tried to kick open the door, but that didn't work either. I looked to Flack, but he was too busy trying to keep one of the man's arms pinned behind his back long enough to get him under control. Realizing they needed my help, I sprinted around the corner toward the closed door, and yanked it open.

A barrage of noise hit my ears. Behind the soundproof walls I could only imagine what the men were shouting, but with the door open I could hear everything. Mac was still shouting for someone to open the door while simultaneously securing the two beefy arms in a pair of handcuffs. Flack wasn't visible to me from behind the massive man's back, but I could hear his voice peppered with colorful language as he shouted at the man to calm down. The man himself was shouting and swearing at the man still lying motionless on the floor. The only one who didn't seem to be shouting was the other officer. He was standing behind the man and closest to me with one arm still wrapped around the man's torso, and he gave me a grateful look as I held the door open for them. There was a rushing of footsteps, and several officers ran by me to try and subdue the prisoner.

"Give it up, goddamnit!" Flack shouted over the man's screams of rage. After a few more moments of shouting and struggling, the giant seemed to give up. With a final heave of effort he spit on his victim, and turned to exit the room. Not wanting to be in the way, I began to edge around the doorway as they came through. The officers came out first, followed by Mac, the giant, and then Flack. I watched as they walked by me one by one. Mac smiled at me grimly in a kind of thanks, but didn't say anything. Not wanting the man to see me, I ducked my head as he passed, and let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding once he'd made it safely by me.

As of he'd sensed my relief, the man suddenly straightened up with a surprised, "What the!" and whirled out of Flack's grip to face me.

"You!" He screamed, "You're gonna be sorry you ever lied to Louie, you bitch!" I was paralyzed as I watched him lunge toward me. Before I could make any kind of movement to protect myself, a strong arm flew out and pushed me to the ground. There was the solid thud of a fist connecting solidly with its target, and I watched from my position on the floor as Flack's well aimed punch sent my attacker reeling backwards.

"Flack! Enough!" Mac shouted sternly as the giant man stumbled helplessly into the opposite wall.

The fuming detective watched as the man tried to regain his balance. "Try anything and you'll _really_ regret pissing me off," he said loudly. The giant merely grunted. "Well at least we got a name. I'll go get Danny," Flack told to Mac, and he turned to re-entered the interrogation room. Several more officers had made it to the scene at this point, and Mac gave them a few gruff orders before sending most of them away with the sullen prisoner. The rest went into the interrogation room to check on Flack and Danny.

"Need a hand?" He asked offering me his. I took hold of it and pulled myself up.

"I'm so sorry-" I began, but Mac cut me off.

"No. I'm the one who's sorry. I underestimated him." He turned briskly and started off down the hallway towards the large staircase.

_What do I do now?_ I wondered as I stood awkwardly in the hall as the officers began to disperse back to wherever they'd come from. None of them addressed me, however, and I decided it might be best if I just slipped out quietly. I walked quickly past the room and down the hall.

"Hey!" I heard Don's voice just as I was about the round the corner. I turned around and saw that he'd come out into the hall and was walking towards me. "Thanks." He said simply once he'd caught up, and I shrugged.

"Thank you!" I replied. "He seemed pretty angry." I winced as I realized how obvious that was.

"Yeah that was Danny's fault. Did Mac leave?"

"Yeah. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to go…"

"Ok yeah I dunno. He'd said he'd take you around the lab if you were interested, but I guess he's probably busy with our friend at the moment. I could see if anyone else is free though. That ok?"

"Oh my gosh are you joking? Of course that's alright! He really said that?"

Flack laughed. "Yeah he did." He turned on his heal and I followed with what I was sure was the dorkiest smile plastered across my face.

"How you feelin', Danno?" Flack stopped and called into the room he'd left moments ago. I peeked in behind him and saw Danny sitting with his back to the wall supporting an ice pack on his right eye.

"Real peachy, thanks buddy." He quipped and Flack laughed, "Who's the girl? Heard she's lookin' for a job here."

Flack turned towards me and gestured to his friend, "Maddie, this is Danny. Danno meet Maddie."

I smiled slightly and waved in greeting. Danny smiled and nodded back, "Good luck." He said and I thanked him.

"Danno, you know if Montana's busy? I thought she could show Maddie around the lab, and maybe to see Sid."

"Yeah I'm pretty sure she'll be eating lunch soon. Shouldn't be a problem."

"Alright, thanks Danno."

I waved at Danny again, and followed Flack as he led the way through the hallways and over to a large elevator. As we rode up in silence, I was overtaken by a strange exhilaration. This was it! I was finally on my way to obtaining my dream job. Who would have thought such a great thing could have come out of such a terrible situation…. Now all I had to do was avoid Slate-eyes and his cronies long enough to prove myself….


	6. Chapter 6

**Short chapter! Sorry.... :( Hopefully, now that finals are almost done (FINALLY) I can update more often and with more exciting stuff :)**

The next few hours were a blur. Flack took me upstairs to meet Lindsay, or "Montana" as Flack and Danny joked, and she showed me around the entire lab. On our way by one of the massive glass offices, Lindsay stopped suddenly and motioned me to follow her inside.

"Hey, Stel," She addressed the curly haired woman sitting behind the desk. "We've got us a new recruit."

"Nice to meet you!" Stella said standing up and enthusiastically shaking my hand. I couldn't believe it! Here I was, meeting the _real_ Stella Bonasera.

"It's so great to finally be here." I said trying not to sound nervous, "I've been waiting for this moment for….well forever I guess." Stella laughed.

"I like your enthusiasm! What're you looking to do here?"

"I'm really interested in becoming an M.E." I said, and grinned proudly when Stella looked impressed.

"Oh great, have you guys seen Sid?"

"No we haven't made it down there yet," Lindsay said looking at her watch quickly, "I was thinking maybe Hawkes could take over? I'm supposed to meet… I'm eating lunch with… someone soon." I saw her blush brightly, and Stella laughed again.

"Well just tell Danny I'm still waiting on those DNA results from him. He can give them to me after lunch."

"Sure thing," Lindsay smiled shyly and we both said goodbye to Stella.

"Hawkes used to work as an M.E. for us," Lindsay explained as we turned left out of the doorway and continued back down the hallway the way we'd come, "He can take you down to see Sid if that's alright. I'm sorry I kinda forgot about the lunch… thing."

"It's totally fine," I assured her, "I really appreciate you taking time to show me around."

"Not a problem. We could use a new face around here."

Lindsay smiled at me and I felt a rush of gratitude towards here. I wasn't even sure I'd get the job, and here she was being so nice to me. If I did end up working with Mac's team, it was nice knowing I would already have a friend.

"Yo, Hawkes!" Lindsay called as we entered a dark room full of computer screens. Two men were hunched over a keyboard and seemed to be focused intently on a scrap of paper in front of them. At Lindsay's voice, however, the darker of the two men looked up at us in surprise. A grin spread across his handsome features.

"Thanks for knocking, Monroe. You need something?"

"Yeah, actually I do. This is Maddy Chandler. She's interested in becoming an M.E. Mac wanted me to give her a tour around, but I'm late for lunch, and we haven't made it down to Sid's yet… would you mind taking her?"

"Sure, not a problem," He stood up and came over to shake my hand. "Sheldon Hawkes. And this is Adam." He added nodding towards the light haired guy still staring intently at the screen in front of him.

"Wh-what? Oh, hey!" Adam stuttered jumping at his name. He stood up quickly and yanked the ear buds from his ears, "sorry I couldn't hear you guys, and I was just uh… what's up?" He raked a hand through his hair nervously, and I couldn't help but smile. He was cute.

"I'm Maddie," I said offering my hand.

"Adam. Adam Ross." The younger man grinned cheekily. "Fresh meat? Does this mean I'm not the new guy anymore?"

Lindsay laughed, "Not quite yet, Adam."

"Ah well," he sighed, "a man can always dream…"

Lindsay laughed and the doctor made a gesture as if to say "don't listen to him, he's crazy."

"Hey, I saw that man!" Adam protested indignantly, "You're just jealous of my ways with the ladies." He threw his arms casually around Lindsay's shoulder.

"Yeah, ok Adam." Sheldon chuckled and rolled his eyes. "I can take you down to see Sid, Maddie. I actually have something to ask him so it works out well."

"Fine. Leave me here with this thing…" Adam grumbled as we filed out of the room. "I mean, it's not like you said you'd help me figure out what it is or anything…"

"I'll be back." Hawkes chuckled and closed the door behind him. "Alright. To the dungeon we go."

We said goodbye to Lindsay and headed back towards the elevators. On the way down the M.E.'s office, Hawkes explained to me how he'd started off working as an M.E., but ultimately decided he wanted more field time. Mac had been gracious enough to let him send in an application and he'd been moved upstairs permanently.

"That's really great." I said, "Mac sounds like a really great guy. I've followed his, and - well I guess they're your cases too - for a long time."

"Yeah Mac is a really great guy," Sheldon agreed laughing, "How'd you get interested in being an M.E. if you don't mind me asking?" Not wanting to put a damper on the happy mood, I told him the abbreviated story of following in my father's footsteps.

"-and so yeah, that's basically how it happened." I finished as we stepped out of the elevator and into, what I hoped would be, my future job site. My jaw dropped and I practically drooled on the tiled floor as I scanned the room full of the most up-to-date equipment I'd ever seen.

"You look impressed!" Hawkes laughed as I followed him over to an examining table. I could only nod in awe as I watched a man fish a bullet out of the shoulder wound of a shooting victim.

"Hey Sid you got a minute?" Sheldon asked as we reached the man's table.

"Have I ever told you, you have perfect timing?" Sid chuckled as he dropped the bullet into a bowl of water and stood up straighter. "And who might this be?"

"This is Maddie. She's your future disciple."

"Is that so?" Sid raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"Well not yet…" I blushed, "I've applied for the job though."

"You must like working with people." Hawkes and I laughed at the joke.

"There are plenty more where that came from." Sid chuckled good naturedly, "Is there anything you needed to ask me, Sheldon? You look like someone looking for answers."

As Sheldon and Sid began to discuss the development of their current case, I leaned over the table slightly to get a better look at what Sid had been digging at. The wound was deep. I couldn't tell if it was a through and through because the victim's back was up against the table, but there was a strange stippling pattern around it suggesting that air hadn't been the only thing between the gun and the man's arm. The bullet had passed through something that had left strange green fragments around the bullet hole. I was itching to look at them closer.

"Any ideas?" I heard Sid ask, and I stood up quickly.

"Me? Uh…" I blushed again, "Well I dunno…" I hadn't expected to be put on the spot. I didn't know if it would be rude to put in my two cents, but thankfully Sheldon chuckled and reassured me.

"Don't' worry. Sid asks me the same thing every time I come down here. Sometimes I wonder whether any of his diagnoses are original." Sid huffed, but I noticed he was still smiling. I could tell he and Hawkes liked to tease each other.

"Well I dunno…" I said feeling more confident, "It looks like a deep wound, but I could be wrong since it looks like the bullet was shot through something. It depends what those green specks are…They look almost as if they came from a plastic bottle. Some of them are curved funny…" I pointed to a particular fragment and Sheldon leaned in further.

"Yeah I see what you mean…. Although I think with the amount of fragments in the arm we can safely say that the gun was about this far away," He made his hand into a gun and pointed it at the entrance to the wound, "What do you think, Sid?"

"I'd say that's about right!" The experienced M.E. took his tweezers and pulled out the particular fragment we'd been looking at, "I hadn't thought plastic at first, but I think you could be right Maddie. Only one way to find out!" He slipped the shard into a plastic bag and handed it to me along with the tweezers. "While Sheldon and I go to look at his victim, why don't you finish up with this guy? You two can bring those fragments up to trace when you go back upstairs."

I couldn't believe my ears, but Sid's grin told me he was totally serious. An enthusiastic "Thank you!" was all I could think of to say. I pulled on a pair of gloves and got to work. By the time I was finished, Sheldon and Sid were done as well, and Hawkes and I got back onto the elevator.

"I can't believe that just happened…." I sighed looking at the plastic bag full of small green pieces, "That was beyond cool."

"I'm glad you liked it!" Hawkes laughed. "I wish Mac were here to see the look on your face. He could never turn you down after that."

"Yeah I get a little too into things sometimes." I said as my cheeks got warm.

"Well you can't go wrong here," Sheldon assured me, "You have to have lots of enthusiasm to work in this field."

He was right. Working with victims was certainly not going to be a walk in the park, but it was what I wanted to do. Meeting all the members of Mac's team had been amazing, and I was still in shock at how friendly they'd all been. After a day like today, I didn't know what I was going to do if I didn't get that job...

**End of chapter 6! I tried to have a little bit of every "new" character in here but it was more difficult than I expected.... Apologies if I didn't portray some of then very well.... Rate and review! Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has done so already and as always, suggestions welcome :)**


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